Serious Eats: Recipes
Empellón Chef Alex Stupak's Homemade Green Chorizo Tacos with Kale and Potatoes
[Photograph: Christina Holmes]
Can you really write a book on America's Greatest New Cooks and not mention Alex Stupak of Empellón? After all, it takes a great mind to move from avant-garde pastry to idiosyncratic Mexican cuisine in one successful fell swoop (even if Stupak insists it was a natural transition).
Stupak's cuisine takes all of the multitudinous flavors of Mexico and intensifies them further; a perfect example is his take on chorizo and potato tacos. Instead of sticking with spice-laden red chorizo, he chooses to embrace its green vegetal cousin, building parsely-laden grassy flavor to pair with roasted fingerling potatoes. To bring out even more of the earthy flavor, he adds kale to the mix. A crumble of queso fresco adds a punch of brightness to finish assembled the tacos.
Why I picked this recipe: Homemade chorizo and potatoes eaten inside a tortilla is always a good idea. Add some kale (healthy!) and some Alex Stupak-genius (inspiring!) and it's an even greater one.
What worked: Everything, from the chorizo-making process to the final taco assembly, worked like a dream and tasted like one too.
What didn't: Nothing.
Suggested tweaks: If you're looking for a spicy chorizo, this isn't your recipe. That said, it wouldn't be wrong to add a charred jalapeno or two into the mix.
Reprinted with permission from Food & Wine: America's Greatest New Cooks Edited by Dana Cowin, copyright 2013. Published by American Express Publishing. All rights reserved. Available wherever books are sold.
